Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Motivation
Psst, I am going to let you in on an inside tip - the quickest way to get me to do something is to piss me off. If you tell me I cannot do something or should not do something, I am on it, like the proverbial fly on shit. When I hear these types of statements, every Neanderthal, gorilla, monkey and chimp from my family history starts pounding their chest and throwing fecal matter at the thought of a challenge (sorry, it’s the Anthropology degree. Have I mentioned I minored in English? The amount of time those poor professors spent, trying to make me literate...)
Witness this story:
When I was 21 years old, I spent the summer in Jackson, Wyoming. My Dad was upset because, he wanted me to stay home and work in Salt Lake, I, on the other hand, wanted to get away. I had been wallowing and drifting at the uber-commuter school, the University of Utah and I needed some inspiration. So, I landed 2 jobs, worked 60 hours a week, met friends, enjoyed the scenery and partied (not much though, I worked a too much to party a whole lot) in Jackson for the summer. During my summer, I also decided that since this really cute guy I was dating and one of my best friends from high school were going to Utah State University, I would make a change of schools at the end of the summer. I notified my parents of my plan. I thought my Dad would be thrilled, since Utah State was much less expensive than the U. He didn’t say much on the phone, although, my Dad is never a man of many words on the best of days.
A day later, I got a letter from him and this one was far worse than the one he sent me at Girl Scout Camp. He said,
I was making a mistake and he was not going to support me any longer. I was on my own and he wanted my truck returned to him as soon as I was finished in Jackson - unless, I had a sudden return to sanity and moved home and attended the U.
I wrote him a letter back, crying the entire time I wrote the damn thing, saying that,
I thought going to Utah State was a good decision and I hoped he would have enough faith in me in a person to have the judgment skills to determine what school might be better for me. I was sorry he felt that way, but there was not a chance in hell I was going back to the U.
I turned in my truck, moved to Utah State, paid for my tuition, became an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant and maintained a 3.8 g.p.a. for the next 5 quarters. I found a college that I loved, friends I adored and married the cute guy I was dating. TAKE THAT YOU SOB! Dad woke up to the fact that he had lost control over me and relented a little bit, he gave me my truck back....but, he never did help out with housing or tuition, ever again. Oh, well. We’re doing better now, thanks for asking.
So, for good or ill, if I get pissed off, I get motivated. It is a sad defect in my personality.
Now, if an of you could leave a comment telling me there is no way in heaven or hell, that I could lose 150 pounds and quit drinking Coke , I would appreciate it.
